Fast As A Staghorn

The group of coral specimens commonly named staghorn are some of my favorites. They grow extremely fast and come in a variety of pigments. These are one of the very important corals for reef growth. The mass they produce contributes to a large portion of the reef structure in the wild. Most of the taller branching Acropora get tossed into this category. The Acropora cervicornis is one very popular species. I have seen these grow up to a inch in a months time. Providing optimal water quality and prime real estate in captivity is essential. These specimens tend to like strong random flow and plenty of light. Placement is important given the speed at which they add mass. A colony can shade and over grow slower corals quite rapidly. If allowed it would be the only coral able to survive in the area. Much like other stoney corals, certain parameters need to be kept in optimal range and stable. A few very important levels to pay close attention to are Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium and Phosphate. All the basic parameters will certainly also need to be in range. Specific gravity and temperature are a couple of the basic levels that are very important. The stoney corals tend to be less forgiving then others and build their skeleton from minerals acquired from the sea water. The staghorn corals are a nice addition to a reef aquarium and will add some height to the aqua scape. The formation and structure along with the variety of pigments they exhibit make them one of my favorite stoney corals.